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Backstage politicking in WWE and wrestling has taken place throughout the course of the industry's history. While top superstars in WWE and outside were notorious for abusing creative control, that has undoubtedly reduced in the modern age.
A lot of that has to do with ego, but it doesn't mean that some superstars have stopped pushing for big victories. On this list, we look at six WWE legends who booked themselves to win a big match.
#6 Edge - Reportedly pushed for a Royal Rumble win upon his WWE return in 2021
Edge returned to WWE in 2021, immediately announcing his entry into the Men's Royal Rumble match. The last time he was seen was Backlash 2020, where he suffered a major injury in "The Greatest Wrestling Match Ever" (as dubbed by WWE) against Randy Orton.
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Edge's Royal Rumble victory made him the third man in the company's history to win the match from the No.1 spot. In doing so, he also joined an elite list of seven other WWE legends who won the Royal Rumble match twice.
The Rated-R Superstar chose to face Universal Champion Roman Reigns at WrestleMania 37, making the jump to SmackDown. While Roman Reigns vs. Edge was the originally scheduled main event for WrestleMania 37 Night 2, WWE added Daniel Bryan to the match, making it a triple threat.
Around the build to WrestleMania 37, Dave Meltzer of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter was discussing the difference between Edge and Daniel Bryan - both of whom had creative control. He noted that Bryan used his creative control to put over other superstars, while the WWE Hall Of Famer personally pushed for his Royal Rumble victory and WrestleMania main event.
"It is notable the difference with Edge and Daniel Bryan on the creative team. It was notable that they were the two people who got substantial interview time leading to the match, but Edge, at 47, was pushing for a main event title shot, while Bryan, at 39, in his position was pushing constantly to get other people over."
If it's true, it doesn't put the Rated-R Superstar in a good light. Either way, Edge still helped elevate Roman Reigns in the WrestleMania 37 main event when he was pinned along with Daniel Bryan.
#5 Goldberg - Booked himself to win the Universal title at WWE Super ShowDown
When 'The Fiend' Bray Wyatt faced WWE Hall of Famer Goldberg in 2020, there was some fear that the latter would win. 'The Fiend' was the character that the company had invested in the most during 2019.
The Fiend was an instant hit with the WWE Universe, and it took Bray Wyatt only a couple of months to capture the Universal Championship after his return at SummerSlam. Wyatt's second WWE world title reign began in Saudi Arabia and it would end there as well.
'The Fiend' was the most protected character in WWE at that point. Not only was he on a winning streak, but Wyatt's alter-ego was rightfully treated as a special attraction that only wrestled in pay-per-views.
It was February of 2017 when Goldberg defeated a younger star (Kevin Owens) to capture the Universal Championship and three years later, history would repeat itself. Goldberg pinned The Fiend clean in what turned out to be a highly controversial decision by WWE.
A report from WrestleZone revealed that it was a last-minute decision because Goldberg didn't want to risk damaging his image. The WWE Hall Of Famer reportedly used his creative control in WWE to push for the title win:
"We were told that Goldberg going over was a last-minute decision, apparently because Goldberg didn’t want to risk damaging his image. It was noted that Goldberg bargained for creative control and pushed for the title win because 'The Fiend' was a monster and the younger fans needed to see him come out victorious, or it would ruin his character."
Bray Wyatt would still go on to face John Cena at WrestleMania 36, but there's no doubt that his career trajectory in WWE would have been different had he won.
#4 Hulk Hogan - Upstaged Bret Hart to win the WWE Championship at WrestleMania IX
If anybody won the WWE Championship the way Hulk Hogan did at WrestleMania IX, they would be abused to no end. However, 1993 was a different time in WWE. Vince McMahon intended to fully move on from the older generation of superstars, and Bret Hart emerged as the youngest prime candidate to take that spot.
Since WWE also had to change its image after a steroid scandal, the smaller and leaner Bret Hart fit the bill. He won the WWE Championship from Ric Flair in late 1992 and was set to defend it in the main event of WrestleMania against Yokozuna.
Bret Hart recalled being crushed when WWE Chairman Vince McMahon told him that he would have to drop the WWE title to Yokozuna, after which Hulk Hogan would win it. When he asked Vince McMahon whether he was dropping the WWE title because he didn't do a good enough job, McMahon reassured him that he was still WWE's long-term plan.
As it played out, Bret Hart dropped the WWE title to Yokozuna after getting blinded by Mr. Fuji. Hulk Hogan, who lost at WrestleMania 9 in a tag team match, appeared after the main event and captured the WWE title by beating Yokozuna in 22 seconds.
Jim Ross on his Grilling JR Podcast revealed that Hulk Hogan's return to WWE likely happened on the condition that he won the World title at WrestleMania 9. (H/T 411Mania)
“You think Hogan’s gonna come back not knowing he’d be be the champion? Come on. This is that self-fulfilling prophecy. Of course the deal was done before Bret found out about it. I don’t know that, but I’d bet money on it.”
Bret Hart later revealed that Hulk Hogan went back to him and said that he owed him one - something that Hart kept in mind. However, he also accused Hulk Hogan of refusing to face him in a "passing of the torch" match at SummerSlam in 1993.
Hogan would drop the title back to Yokozuna after a short reign and depart WWE for nearly a decade.
#3 Triple H - Booked himself to beat Jinder Mahal in a WWE Live Event in India
This is perhaps the least outrageous instance of a WWE legend booking himself to win. In 2017, Jinder Mahal received the biggest push of his career and went from enhancement talent to main event superstar within a week.
This led to a shocking upset as Mahal dethroned Randy Orton to become the WWE Champion. While the decision was criticized by many, the company was planning its expansion into the Indian market and needed a superstar to represent the country.
During that run, Jinder Mahal was booked similarly to Bret Hart in 1997 - where he was a heel in the United States but a babyface in Canada (and everywhere else as well). However, this didn't have the same impact on Jinder Mahal because he wasn't The Hitman.
For one, WWE made the mistake of putting in no effort into Jinder Mahal's initial push. Rather than gradually building him as a main event superstar for over a year or two, WWE decided that a month was enough for the Indian-Canadian star to get over as a top heel.
A month after Jinder Mahal lost the WWE Championship, he was set to headline a Live Event in New Delhi, India. It was supposed to be a big homecoming, so WWE booked a big match between Mahal and Triple H. While many felt that the Modern Day Maharaja would beat Triple H because it was in India, but that wasn't the case.
Triple H defeated Jinder Mahal and stood tall in the end. The Game admitted to booking himself to win the match, justifying it with a reasonable response.
"It’s not to say Jinder wasn’t ‘over’ there. He was! You have to understand the market. It’s not like everyone just went, ‘Oh my God he’s Indian! He looks like us so we love him.’ They are a savvy market. They understand that he’s [playing] a bad guy [on television]. Even though he got a massive reaction, he still needs to earn their respect. He’s still growing and still new. You know what I mean?”
This is perhaps the only decision on this list that WWE fans won't necessarily disagree with.
#2 Shawn Michaels - Prevented Vader from winning the WWE Championship at SummerSlam 1996
Shawn Michaels was the face of WWE in 1996. At WrestleMania 12, he defeated arch-rival Bret Hart to capture the WWE Championship for the first time. His first reign as WWE Champion would go on for over half a year, facing some top names as his challengers.
One of the biggest challenges (literally) that Shawn Michaels faced in that reign was Vader. The wrestling legend was supposed to be booked to win the WWE Championship from the smaller HBK, but backstage politics prevented it.
When Shawn Michaels was WWE Champion in 1996, it was perhaps the peak of his ego. Before changing his life in the late 1990s and early 2000s, Shawn Michaels wasn't considered to be a very nice person as per multiple accounts.
Jim Cornette had a less-than-flattering account of Shawn Michaels and his refusal to lose to the late great Vader. While not directly implying it, Cornette accused the WWE legend of "refusing to do jobs" for other superstars.
In an interview, Vader admitted that he was promised a WWE title win.
"You know what, the title was promised to me two times. I was supposed to be a two-time heavyweight champion. If I did the job for Shawn at SummerSlam, and then something would happen and I'd get it then give it to somebody else, take it back and then give it back to Shawn in San Antonio. Instead, somehow that got changed around," said Vader.
With that said, Vader doesn't seem to be as bitter about it. In an interview with Hannibal TV, he seemed to be more accepting of what happened. While admitting that WWE could have done a better job rather than having him lose to Shawn Michaels so much, he went on to praise The Heartbreak Kid as an all-time great - saying "Shawn, in his prime, I don’t know if there is another better worker.”
Sycho Sid got his spot instead. At Madison Square Garden, he captured the WWE title from Shawn Michaels before losing it in the latter's hometown of San Antonio two months later in the 1997 Royal Rumble.
Soon after that, Shawn Michaels "lost his smile" and vacated the WWE Championship.
#1 John Cena - Booked himself to be "WWE's savior" at SummerSlam 2010
In what can now be described as one of the most infamous WWE booking decisions of the last decade, John Cena and his team defeated The Nexus at Summerslam 2010 in the main event.
But why was it so controversial? For one, The Nexus was still new and they were the hottest part of WWE television. The angle felt fresh and the faction led by Wade Barrett was making strides quickly.
Being in a match that involves John Cena, Edge, Chris Jericho, and Bret Hart isn't bad at all. However, the consensus seemed to be that The Nexus should have defeated Team WWE. Had they done so, their momentum would have grown exponentially and Wade Barrett would have had a legitimate chance of becoming a main eventer in WWE.
Justin Gabriel, a former Nexus member, revealed that there was a back-and-forth between Chris Jericho and John Cena about the finish (H/T WrestlingInc) and expressed his regret for not standing up against the decision.
“We should have changed the finish, but being rookies we didn’t want to be pushy. We all knew we should have changed it. Everything from that point went downhill. It should have ran for at least a year and put more of an emphasis on some of the characters," said Gabriel.
John Cena denied being the one responsible for the decision, but it seems to be widely acknowledged that he booked himself and Team WWE to win. Since he was already five years into his main event at this point, he should have put The Nexus over and helped establish Wade Barrett as WWE's next big star.
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